Input apparatus, information terminal apparatus, and mode switching method

ABSTRACT

A display portion  3  and a camera portion  4  are disposed in a main body  1 . A housing of the main body  1  is made of an non-electroconductive material. One side surface of the main body  1  is an information input surface  5  of an input apparatus. Disposed in the housing on the side surface of the information input surface is a light, thin-film shaped electrostatic sensor. By moving a finger tip  6  on the information input surface  5  upward and downward while contacting thereon, a cursor moves on the display portion  3 . Tap positions U, C, and L into which the information input surface  5  is divided in its height direction are defined. When each tap position is lightly tapped one time, releasing and touching states of the finger tip  6  are detected by the sensor and a tap operation is recognized. The tap operation includes a confirmation of a menu at the cursor position, a shutter operation, and so forth. The difference of tap positions can be detected by the sensor.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present invention relates to an input apparatus, an informationterminal apparatus, and a mode switching method that allow an user toinput a command with the information terminal apparatus.

BACKGROUND ART

Recently, information terminal apparatuses, such as a light-weight palmtop type information terminal, a wrist watch type information terminal,a wrist watch type computer, and a small electronic cameras have beenproposed. For example, Japanese Patent Laid-Open Publication No.2002-125039 describes a wrist watch type information terminal.

FIG. 14 shows an appearance of the wrist watch type information terminaldescribed in the related art. As shown in FIG. 14, the wrist watch typeinformation terminal is composed of a main body 101 and a wrist band 102that is secured to both end portions of the main body 101. Disposed at anearly center portion on an upper surface of the main body 101 is adisplay portion 103 that displays various types of information. Disposedat a lower portion on the upper surface of the main body 101 are buttons104 a, 104 b, and 104 c with which the wrist watch type informationterminal is operated. Disposed at a lower portion of the main body 101is an extension portion 105 that has a plurality of buttons 106 withwhich information is input.

However, as shown in FIG. 14, since the wrist watch type informationterminal is small, the input buttons are small. Thus, it is troublesometo operate the buttons and the user tends to operate the wrist watchtype information terminal mistakenly. When the sizes of the buttons areincreased, the size of the wrist watch type information terminal becomeslarge and the design thereof deteriorates. In addition, when the buttonsare exposed to the outside of the wrist watch type information terminal,the buttons may be damaged or the design of the terminal maydeteriorate.

In a palm top type PDA (Personal Digital Assistance) and so forth, aninput operation is performed by tapping a button that appears on ascreen with a pen type input device. However, since the pen type inputdevice is separated from the main body, the pen type input device tendsto be lost. In addition, when an input operation is performed, both themain body and the pen type input device need to be taken out. Thus, theinput operation becomes complicated. In addition, when information isinput to the portable information terminal with the pen type inputdevice, it needs to have an information input area on the front surface.Thus, the size of the portable information terminal becomes large andthe design thereof deteriorates.

Therefore, an object of the present invention is to provide an inputapparatus, an information terminal apparatus, and a mode switchingmethod that allow an input operation to be stably and easily performedwithout the tradeoffs of an increase of the size and a deterioration ofthe design.

DISCLOSURE OF THE INVENTION

To solve the foregoing problems, a first aspect of the present inventionis an input apparatus for an information terminal device, comprising aposition sensor disposed at a part of the outer surfaces of a main bodyof the information terminal device, wherein the position sensor detectsa touching position of a finger on the position sensor and a touchingand releasing of the finger to and from the position sensor, and whereinoperation signals corresponding to the position of the finger and thetouching and releasing operations of the finger are supplied to acontroller that controls the information terminal device. As a morepractical aspect of the present invention, a sensing portion of theposition sensor is housed by a hosing of the main body.

A second aspect of the present invention is an information terminalapparatus, comprising an input device and a controller that controls theinformation terminal apparatus and receives an operation signal from theinput device, wherein the input device includes a position sensordisposed at a part of the outer surfaces of a main body of theinformation terminal apparatus, wherein the position sensor detects atouching position of a finger on the position sensor and a touching andreleasing of the finger to and from the position sensor, and whereinoperation signals corresponding to the position of the finger and thetouching and releasing operations of the finger are supplied to thecontroller that controls the information terminal apparatus. As a morepractical aspect of the present invention, a sensing portion of theposition sensor is housed by a housing of the main body.

A third aspect of the present invention is a mode switching method of aninformation terminal device having a plurality of modes, each modehaving sub setting items, the method comprising the steps of: tracing anupper portion of a position sensor with a finger to switch mode items;touching with the finger a predetermined position on the position sensorand releasing the finger therefrom to switch the setting items; anddisplaying a screen that indicates a current mode on a display.

According to the present invention, since a sensing portion of aposition sensor is disposed at the front surface or a side surface of amain body and an input is performed corresponding to the position of afinger that touches the position sensor and the touching and releasingstates of the finger to and from the position sensor, an input apparatuscan be structured in a narrow space. According to the present invention,since buttons and so forth do not need to be disposed on the frontsurface of the housing, buttons can be prevented from being mistakenlypressed in a limited space of the input apparatus. The input apparatusprovides high operability without a tradeoff of a deterioration of thedesign.

In addition, according to the present invention, it is not necessary touse a pen. Thus, while the user wears the input apparatus, he or she canperform an input without the need to consider the storage of a pen.Moreover, since operations that the user, for example, moves and tapshis or her finger are sensible, the psychological stress of the inputapparatus according to the present invention is much lower than that ofa keyboard input or the like.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

FIG. 1, consisting of FIG. 1A, FIG. 1B and FIG. 1C, is front viewsshowing a wrist watch type portable information terminal according to anembodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a rear view showing the interior of the portable informationterminal according to the embodiment of the present invention in thestate that a rear cover is removed.

FIG. 3, consisting of FIG. 3A, FIG. 3B and FIG. 3C, is a perspectiveview and partial enlargement views describing an example of anelectrostatic sensor.

FIG. 4 is a block diagram showing an example of a system structure ofthe portable information terminal according to the embodiment of thepresent invention.

FIG. 5, consisting of FIG. 5A, FIG. 5B and FIG. 5C, is schematicdiagrams describing an operation method of the portable informationterminal according to the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 6 is a schematic diagram describing an example of an operation ofthe portable information terminal according to the embodiment of thepresent invention.

FIG. 7 is schematic perspective views showing a front and a rear of adigital camera according to another embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 8 is a plan view showing a top of the other embodiment of thepresent invention.

FIG. 9, consisting of FIG. 9A, FIG. 9B and FIG. 9C, is a plan view and arear view showing a structure of a touch pad according to the otherembodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 10 is a block diagram showing an electric structure of the otherembodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 11 is a schematic diagram showing an example of a shoot menuaccording to the other embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 12 is a schematic diagram showing an example of a playback menuaccording to the other embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 13 is a schematic diagram showing real examples of menu indicationsof the other embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 14 is a front view showing an appearance of a conventional wristwatch type terminal apparatus.

BEST MODES FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION

Next, with reference to the accompanying drawings, an embodiment of thepresent invention will be described. FIG. 1A is front views showing awrist watch type information terminal according to the embodiment of thepresent invention. The wrist watch type information terminal has a mainbody 1 and a wrist band 2 secured to an upper end portion and a lowerend portion of the main body 1. A battery cell as a power source ishoused in the main body 1 or the wrist band 2.

Disposed nearly at the center of the main body 1 is a display portion 3,such as a flat display, for example, an LCD (Liquid Crystal Display).Disposed at an upper right portion of the main body 1 is a cameraportion 4 composed of an imaging device, such as a CCD (Charge CoupledDevice) or a CMOS (Complementary Metal Oxide Semiconductor), and a lens.A housing of the main body 1 is made of a nonconductive material, suchas ceramic or plastic.

The front surface except for the display portion 3 of the main body 1 ora side surface at the top, bottom, left, or right of the housing of themain body 1 is a user information input surface. According to thisembodiment, a region that is one side surface of the main body 1 andthat corresponds to a side surface of the display portion 3 is aninformation input surface 5 of the input apparatus according to thepresent invention. Disposed in the housing on the side surfacecorresponding to the information input surface 5 is a position sensor,for example, an electrostatic sensor, that detects the variation ofelectrostatic capacitance (hereinafter, this sensor is sometimesreferred to as the sensor). The position sensor will be described later.

As shown in FIG. 1B, an input operation is performed by moving a fingertip 6 of an index finger of the user in the upper and lower directionson the information input surface 5 while the finger tip 6 is beingtouched to the information input surface 5. The position of the fingertip 6 is detected by the inner sensor. As will be described later, asthe finger tip 6 is moved in the upper and lower directions, a selectionposition or a cursor is moved in the display portion 3.

As shown in FIG. 1C, tap positions U, C, and L are defined by theinformation input surface 5 that is divided into three portions in theheight direction thereof. These tap positions are referred to as the uptap position U, the center tap position C, and the low tap position L.When any tap position is lightly tapped, the releasing and touchingstates of the finger tip 6 are detected by the sensor. As a result, thetap operation is recognized. The tap operation causes a menu to beconfirmed at a selected position, a shutter operation to be performed,and so forth. The difference of tap positions can be detected by thesensor. In addition, an operation by which any tap position is tappedtwo times in a short time may be defined as a tap operation.

FIG. 2 schematically shows the interior of the main body from which therear cover has been removed. A box-shaped housing of the main body 1houses the display portion 3, the camera portion 4, a circuit board thatmounts a signal process IC, and so forth. In addition, the housinghouses a sensing portion of the sensor 10 disposed along the sidesurface of the information input surface 5. The sensor 10 is disposed ina space formed between the rear housing and the circuit board (notshown). Since the sensor 10 is light and thin-film shaped, it can bemounted with, for example, a double-adhesive tape.

Next, with reference to FIG. 3, an example of the sensor 10 will bedescribed. As shown in FIG. 3A, the sensor 10 is integrally composed ofa base portion 11 and a belt-shaped portion 12 that extends from thebase portion 11 with a flexible wiring board made from polyimide or thelike. FIG. 3A is a view showing the sensor 10 taken from the operationsurface. Disposed on the opposite surface of the view shown in FIG. 3Ais a component surface.

Disposed on the component surface of the base portion 11 are chipcomponents, such as the signal process IC, a crystal oscillator,resistors, capacitors, and so forth. Formed on the component surface ofthe belt-shaped portion 12 is an electrode pattern. When ICs are ASICs(Application Specific Integrated Circuits) and paired chips are mountedby flip chip mounting, the sensor 10 is miniaturized and thinly formed.

Many small holes 13 are formed at a nearly center position of thebelt-shaped portion 12 along a curve in the upper and lower directionsof the main body 1. As shown in FIG. 3C, the small holes 13 allow thebelt-shaped portion 12 to be easily bent toward the component surfaceside along the line of the small holes 13 at nearly right angles.Instead of the small holes 13, a slit or a groove may be formed to dothat. Alternatively, since the belt-shaped portion 12 has thecharacteristic of flexibility, the belt-shaped portion 12 may be foldedand housed in the main body 1.

A folded portion on the far side of the belt-shaped portion 12 of thebase portion 11 is a sensing portion 14. As shown with an enlarged viewof FIG. 3B, saw-shaped electrodes are formed on the component surface ofthe sensing portion 14. In other words, common electrodes 15 are formedat predetermined intervals in the direction in which the sensing portion14 extends. The common electrodes 15 and detection electrodes 16 a, 16b, . . . and so forth are alternately disposed. The sensing portion 14has structure of a one-dimensional position sensor that detects aposition in the direction in which the belt-shaped portion 12 extends.

As shown in FIG. 2, the sensor 10 is housed in the main body 1. Thesensing portion 14 faces the information input surface 5 on the sidesurface of the main body 1. Although the housing is disposed between theinformation input surface 5 and the sensing portion 14, since thethickness of the housing is around 1 mm, the position of the finger tip6 and the tap operation of the finger tip 6 on the information inputsurface 5 can be detected by the sensor 10.

The sensing portion 14 of the sensor 10 forms an electrostaticcapacitance between adjacent electrodes. When the finger tip 6approaches the sensing portion 14, the electrostatic capacitance varies.The coordinate position in the one-dimensional direction is detectedcorresponding to the variation of the electrostatic capacitance. Inother words, since the finger tip 6 has electroconductivity, lines ofelectric force that take place between adjacent electrodes are absorbedby the finger tip. As a result, the electrostatic capacitance varies.Thus, when a part of the electrostatic capacitance of the operationsurface varies in the case in which the user touches the informationinput surface 5 with a metal substance, the position can be detected.However, when the user touches the information input surface 5 with anonconductive substance (his or her nail, pen, or the like), theposition is not detected. The sensor 10 operates according to the sametheory as a two-dimensional pointing device (named a touch pad or atrack pad).

FIG. 4 shows an example of a system structure of the informationterminal apparatus according to the embodiment of the present invention.As shown in FIG. 4, the information terminal apparatus has a CPU(Central Processing Unit) 21 that controls the entire apparatus. The CPU21 controls each portion of the apparatus corresponding to a program.

The display portion 3, the camera portion 4, and the sensor 10 areconnected to the CPU 21. The display portion 3 displays menus with whichthe information terminal apparatus is controlled. In addition; thedisplay portion 3 is capable of displaying images shot by the cameraportion 4. In addition, a memory 22 that stores a program and that isused as a working area, an external storage 23, and a wireless device 24are connected to the CPU 21. The external storage 23 is, for example, aremovable memory card.

The wireless device 24 is a device that performs a short distancecommunication corresponding to a Bluetooth system, an IrDA (InfraredData Association) system, or the like, a wireless LAN (Local. AreaNetwork) communication, a public wireless communication, such as PHS(Personal Handyphone System), or the like. The wireless device 24 hasbeen assigned, for example, an IP address. The wireless device 24 cancommunicate with another personal computer and an outdoor access point.The wireless device 24 can transmit and receive commands, data, and soforth through a wireless channel. Reference numeral 25 represents apower supply portion composed of a battery, a stabilizing circuit, andso forth.

FIG. 5 is schematic diagrams describing an operation method of the wristwatch type information terminal according to the embodiment of thepresent invention. The operation modes of the wrist watch typeinformation terminal according to the embodiment of the presentinvention are switched by scrolling or tapping. The scrolling is anoperation in which the user traces the information input surface 5 onthe side surface of the main body 1 of the wrist watch type informationterminal in the upper or lower direction with his or her finger tip. Inthe following description, the operation that traces the informationinput surface 5 in the lower direction is called down scrolling. On theother hand, the operation in which the user traces the information inputsurface 5 with his or her finger tip in the upper direction is called upscrolling. The tapping is an operation in which the user lightly tapsthe information input surface 5. The tapping is differently recognizeddepending on the tapped position. In the example, as shown in FIG. 5B,up tap U, center tap C, and low tap L are defined successively in thelower direction of the drawing.

Next, with reference to FIG. 6, an example of the operation of theinformation terminal apparatus according to the embodiment of thepresent invention will be described. According to the embodiment, aplurality of operation modes that are camera mode, scheduler mode,electronic mail mode, and so forth can be used. The camera mode is anoperation mode in which the apparatus operates as a digital camera thatshoots desired objects. The scheduler mode is an operation mode in whichthe apparatus manages, for example, personal schedules. The mail mode isan operation mode in which the apparatus receives mail from a personalcomputer through a wireless channel or the like. In each mode, thedisplay portion 3 displays the mode name. First, the user performs amode selection operation.

As shown in FIG. 6, when the user scrolls the information input surface5 by tracing the information input surface 5 with his or her finger tipin the upper or lower direction, a camera mode screen 31 a, a schedulermode screen 31 b, an electronic mail mode screen 31 c, . . . , and soforth are successively switched. While the desired mode screen appears,when the user taps the center tap, the mode is selected.

While the camera mode screen 31 a appears on the display portion 3, whenthe center tap is tapped, the camera mode is selected. Next, withreference to FIG. 6, the operation of the camera mode will be described.When the center tap is tapped, a camera mode menu screen 32 a appears.The camera mode menu screen 32 a has menus that are a shoot menu, aplayback menu, an erase menu, and back. A selected menu is highlighted,indicated with a reversely indicated cursor, or the like. On the cameramode menu screen 32 a, the shooting menu has been selected.

When the down scrolling is performed in this state, the cursor movesdownward. A playback menu screen 32 b and an erase menu screen 32 csuccessively appear. When the down scrolling is performed, a back menuscreen 32 d appears. While one of the menu screens 32 a, 32 b, 32 c, and32 d appears, when the center tap is tapped, the menu that appears isselected. When the center tap is tapped on the screen 32 d, the menuscreen 32 d changes to the camera mode screen 31 a.

Next, each menu of the camera mode will be described. When the centertap is tapped while the mode menu screen 32 a appears, the shooting menuis selected. Thereafter, an image display screen 331 that displays animage shot by the camera portion 4 appears. An indication color of ashutter button 33 a on the screen is changed to inform the user that theshooting mode takes place. After the user has checked that the imagedisplay screen 33 ₁ appears, he or she taps the center tap. Thus, anobject that appears on an image display screen 33 ₂ is shot. After theobject has been shot, when the center tap is tapped, the shot imageappears for a predetermined time period, for example, three seconds.Whenever the center tap is tapped, the shutter button 33 a is pressed.As a result, images are shot. Reference numeral 33 b represents anindication that represents the remaining number of images that can beshot.

An image shot by the camera portion 4 is compressed when necessary andthen stored in the external storage 23. When an image that was shot isreproduced, image data are read from the external storage 23. When theimage data have been compressed, they are decompressed and thendisplayed on the display portion 3. An image that was shot may be storedin an internal flash memory instead of an external storage.

To exit from the shooting menu, while an image display screen such asthe image display screen 33 ₂ has been selected, the down scroll isperformed. On a screen 33 ₃, a “Back” button is selected and the centertap is tapped. When the center tap is tapped, the shooting menu exits tothe menu screen 32 d.

While the menu screen 32 b appears, when the center tap is tapped, ascreen 34 ₁ appears. On the screen 34 ₁, a playback image, an imageindex 34 a, and a forward button 34 b appear. The image index 34 aindicates the image number of the image that appears on the screen inall images that were shot. The forward button 34 b is a button thatcauses images that were shot to be displayed one by one. While thescreen 34 ₁ appears, when the center tap is tapped, a screen 34 ₂ forthe next image that was shot appears. Whenever the center tap is tapped,images that were shot appear forward one by one.

To exit from the playback menu, while a playback image display screen,such as the image display screen 34 ₂, appears, the down scroll isperformed. On the screen 34 ₃, the “Back” button is selected and thecenter tap is tapped. When the center tap is tapped, the playback menuexits and the menu screen 32 d appears.

When the erase menu is selected on the menu screen 32 c and the centertap is tapped, the erase menu appears on a screen 35 ₁. On the screen 35₁, a playback image, an image index 35 a, and an erase button 35 bappear. The image index 35 a represents the image number of the imagethat appears on the screen in all the images that were shot. While thescreen 35 ₁ appears, when the center tap is tapped, an eraseconfirmation screen 35 ₂ appears. On the erase confirmation screen 352,a message “Will you erase this image?” and buttons “YES” and “NO”appear. To erase the image on the screen, the button “YES” is selected.To not erase the image on the screen, the button “NO” is selected. Whenthe center tap is tapped, the selection operation is executed.Thereafter, the erase confirmation screen for the next image appears.

To exit from the erase menu, while an erase confirmation screen such asan erase confirmation screen 35 ₂ appears, the down scroll is performed.On a screen 35 ₃, the “Back” button is selected and the center tap istapped. When the center tap is tapped, the erase menu exits and then themenu screen 32 d appears.

While the menu screen 32 d appears, when the center tap is tapped, themode screen 31 a appears.

Next, another embodiment of the present invention will be described.FIG. 7 shows appearances of the front and rear of a miniature digitalcamera according to the present invention. The size of the miniaturedigital camera, (width×depth×height, excluding the maximum protrusion),is (69.1×16.8×24) (mm). Since the miniature digital camera is small, itcan be pinched with fingers. The miniature digital camera uses a thinlithium ion battery cell as a power supply.

A power supply switch 42 is disposed beside a shooting lens 41 thatprotrudes from the front of the case. A shutter switch 43 is disposedabove the case. Even if the power supply switch 42 has been turned off,when the shutter switch 43 is pressed, the power is immediately turnedon and the user can shoot objects.

A LCD display 44 is disposed at the rear of the case. The LCD display 44has a size of, for example, 0.44 inches. The LCD display 44 displays animage that can be shot, a playback image that is read from a medium suchas a memory card, and images of menus and various modes. As an inputdevice, disposed above the case and beside the shutter button 43 is atouch pad 45, as shown with a plan view of FIG. 8. Markers of both endpositions and the center position are formed in the vicinity of thetouch pad 45.

FIG. 9 shows only the touch pad 45. FIG. 9A shows the touch pad 45viewed from the top of the case. FIG. 9B shows the rear of the touch pad45 shown in FIG. 9A. The touch pad 45 is composed of a flexible wiringboard 46, a plurality of (for example, five) pressure sense switches 47a, 47 b, 47 c, 47 d, and 47 e arranged in a row on the flexible wiringboard 46, and a resin sheet 48 that coats the pressure sense switches 47a to 47 e. The wiring portion of the flexible wiring board 46 is foldedwhen necessary and housed in the case.

The pressure sense switches 47 a to 47 e are arranged from the left inthe state that the user holds the digital camera with his or herfingers. Any one of the pressure sense switches 47 a to 47 e can bepressed with a finger of the user through the resin sheet 48. Thepressure sense switches 47 a to 47 e have, for example, pressure sensecontacts whose contact resistance values continuously vary correspondingto the press force. When the user applies predetermined amounts of forceto the pressure sense switches 47 a to 47 e through the resin sheet 48with his or her finger tip, they are turned on. The on and off states ofthe pressure sense switches 47 a to 47 e are transferred to a circuitportion (control portion) disposed in the case.

FIG. 10 shows a structure of a circuit portion of the digital camera.Reference numeral 50 represents, for example, an image take-up portioncomposed of, for example, a CCD (Charge Coupled Device). An object imageenters the image take-up portion 50 through the shooting lens 41. Animage take-up signal S1 is input from the image take-up portion 50 to asignal process portion 51. The signal process portion 51 has a CDS(Correlated Double Sampling) and an AGC. The CDS clamps the signal levelof the image take-up signal S1 to a predetermined voltage in the periodof occurrence of reset noise in the image take-up signal S1 so as todecrease the noise component. The AGC automatically adjusts theamplitude of the image take-up signal S1.

In addition, the signal process portion 51 performs processes such asY/C separation, gamma compensation, and white balance for the imagetake-up signal S1. The signal process portion 51 performs a matrixprocess to generate a video signal S2. The video signal S2 is convertedinto a digital video signal S3 by an A/D converter (analog to digitalconverter) 52.

The digital video signal S3 is output to a bus 53. The bus 53 isconnected to a CPU (Central Processing Unit) 54. A control signal,address data, video data, and so forth are transferred through the bus53. The CPU 54 controls all the operations of the digital camera.

Connected to the bus 53 are a system memory 55, a non-volatile memory56, an I/O port 57, and a card interface 59. The system memory 55contains a ROM that stores a program and so forth and an RAM that is awork area in which a program is executed. After the power is turned off,the non-volatile memory 56 stores various constants for operations ofthe digital camera.

The I/O port 57 transfers operation signals received from an operationportion (the shutter button 43 and the touch panel) to the CPU 54through the bus 53. A memory card MC can be attached to a memory cardslot 58. Data are exchanged between the memory card MC attached to thememory card slot 58 and the CPU 54 through the card interface 59.

An antenna 60 and a transmission and reception circuit 61 compose a GPS(Global Positioning System). However, the function of the GPS isoptional. Thus, the GPS is not always disposed. A strobe light can beattached to the digital camera. The strobe light designated by referencenumeral 62 is controlled by a strobe light control portion 63. Thestrobe light control portion 63 is connected to the CPU 54 through thebus 53. A control signal S4 is supplied from the CPU 54 to the strobelight control portion 63. Depending on a user's setting, an operation ofautomatic flash, flash on, or flash off is performed.

A calendar/clock portion 64 is connected to the bus 53. Thecalendar/clock portion 64 manages recorded dates and times, remainingbattery service life, and so forth. The recorded dates and times areadded to images that were shot. The remaining battery service life andso forth are calculated.

The digital video signal S3 is supplied from the A/D converter 52 to acompression/decompression portion 65. The compression/decompressionportion 65 compresses data in accordance with, for example, JPEG (JointPhotographic Experts Group). The compressed video data are written to aframe memory 66. An analog video signal is supplied to the LCD display44 through a D/A converter (digital to analog converter) 67. The LCDdisplay 44 displays an image that is being shot.

When the user presses the shutter button 43, the CPU 54 reads image dataD1 that is shot when the shutter button 43 is pressed and supplies theimage data D1 to the compression/decompression portion 65 through thebus 53 while writing the digital video signal S3 to the frame memory 66.An output of the frame memory 66 is supplied to the LCD display 44through the D/A converter 67 and displayed on the LCD display 44.

The compression/decompression portion 65 compresses the take-up imagedata D1 read from the frame memory 66 in accordance with, for example,the JPEG system and outputs compressed image data D2. The compressedimage data D2 are output to the memory card slot 58 through the cardinterface 59 under the control of the CPU 54 and written to the memorycard MC.

When the user operates the operation portion (touch panel 45) and sets amode, the CPU 54 sends a control signal S6 to an OSD portion 68. The OSDportion 68 outputs an image of a pattern corresponding to each mode(namely, an icon image). The icon image is superimposed with an image onthe LCD display 44 through the D/A converter 67.

Next, with reference to FIG. 11 and FIG. 12, an example of modeswitching according to the other embodiment of the present inventionwill be described. FIG. 11 shows a table of examples of shooting menus.FIG. 12 shows a table of examples of playback menus. These menus matrixa plurality of setting items. Each menu item has setting items. Forexample, the menu item “image quality selection” has the item “highimage quality.” Menu items and setting items are switched by operatingthe touch pad 45 in different manners. The menu is displayed on the LCDdisplay 44 by pressing both the end portions of the touch pad 45 (thepressure sense switches 47 a and 47 e) at the same time. By switchingmenu items and setting items, a desired menu is selected. While thedesired menu appears on the LCD display 44, both the end portions (thepressure sense switches 47 a and 47 e) are pressed at the same time. Asa result, the menu disappears and the setting item that last appeared ina plurality of setting items becomes valid.

In the table of the shooting menu shown in FIG. 11, menu items areswitched one by one in the horizontal direction denoted by arrow mark71. Setting items are switched one by one in the vertical directiondenoted by arrow mark 72 (from up to down). By tracking the touch pad 45with a finger tip from left to right, menu items are switched one by onein the direction denoted by arrow mark 71. Whenever the center portion(the pressure sense switch 47 c at the center position) is tapped by afinger tip, setting items are switched one by one.

When high image quality is selected as a menu item, as the initialsetting item, a default item or the preceding (latest) setting itemappears on the LCD display 44. The menu item can be changed by tappingthe center portion of the touch pad 45. Another menu item, for example,“white balance” can be set by tracing a finger tip on the touch pad 45,for example, rightward. As a result, the menu item “white balance” isselected. A default item or the preceding setting item appears. The menuitem “sunlight” may be switched to “fluorescent lamp” by pressing thecenter pressure sense switch 47 c on the touch pad 45 two times. While“fluorescent lamp” appears on the LCD display 44, by pressing both theend portions (the pressure sense switches 47 a and 47 e) of the touchpad 45 at the same time, the menu disappears and the setting item“fluorescent lamp” that last appeared becomes valid.

Actually, as shown in FIG. 13, icon images that represent menu itemsappear on the LCD display 44. FIG. 13 shows setting items of the menuitem “white balance.”

When the white balance mode is selected, a screen 75 appears on the LCDdisplay 44. In the white balance mode, a “sunlight” mode screen 76, an“incandescent lamp” mode screen 77, and a “fluorescent lamp” mode screen78 appear. Likewise, in other modes, respective mode screens appear thatare omitted.

The setting switching operation for the table of the playback menu shownin FIG. 12 is the same as that for the shooting menu. By tracing theupper portion on the touch pad 45 leftward and rightward, menu items areswitched one by one as denoted by arrow mark 73. In each menu item,whenever the center pressure sense switch 47 c is pressed, the menuitems are switched one by one from top to bottom as denoted by arrowmark 74. When a desired menu item is selected, a default setting item orthe preceding (latest) setting item appears on the LCD display 44.

“Erase one image” or “erase all images” are menu items with which imagedata of the memory card MC are erased. When an erase operation isperformed, the menu item “execute erase operation” that asks whether theuser will execute the erase operation appears. When menu item “executeerase operation” is selected, the erase operation is executed. At thispoint, the “executing” icon that represents that the erase operation isbeing executed appears on the LCD display 44. Like the shooting menu,while a desired menu appears on the LCD display 44, by pressing both theend portions (the pressure sense switches 47 a and 47 e) of the touchpad 45 at the same time, the menu disappears and the setting item thatlast appeared becomes valid.

When the pressure sense switch 47 a at the left end of the touch pad 45is continuously pressed, the remaining battery life and the remainingnumber of images that can be shot appear.

Although the present invention has been shown and described with respectto a best mode embodiment thereof, it should be understood by thoseskilled in the art that the foregoing and various other changes,omissions, and additions in the form and detail thereof may be madetherein without departing from the spirit and scope of the presentinvention. For example, the present invention can be applied to sensorsthat can detect the position of a finger, for example, touch switchesthat are turned on when a finger tip touches them, other thanelectrostatic type position sensors and pressure sense switches. Inaddition, the present invention can be applied to wearable informationterminal apparatuses, such as necklaces, finger rings, and bracelets aswell as wrist watches. In addition, the present invention can be appliedto PDA type or portable telephone type information terminal devices.

DESCRIPTION OF REFERENCE NUMERALS

-   -   1 MAIN BODY    -   3 DISPLAY PORTION    -   4 CAMERA PORTION    -   5 INFORMATION INPUT SURFACE    -   6 FINGER TIP    -   10 SENSOR    -   14 SENSING PORTION    -   41 SHOOTING LENS    -   43 SHUTTER SWITCH    -   44 LCD DISPLAY    -   45 TOUCH PAD    -   47 a TO 47 e PRESSURE SENSE SWITCH

1. An input apparatus for an information terminal having a display monitor and a controller for controlling the display monitor with the display monitor displaying a plurality of menu items and a plurality of submenu items, and each menu item providing a category label for a subset of submenu items, each submenu item having at least one operation function associated therewith, the input apparatus comprising: a sensor extending at least substantially along one side surface of the display monitor to and between a first end and an opposite second end, and a cursor operative for highlighting one of the plurality of menu items or submenu items displayed on the display monitor, wherein said sensor is operative, in conjunction with the display monitor and the controller, in a sliding contact mode and a touch-tapping mode such that, in the sliding contact mode, a user's finger contacts either the sensor or the side surface of the display monitor at or adjacent the first end and the user's finger slides therealong in touching contact therewith until at or adjacent the second end to move the cursor between and among consecutive ones of the plurality of menu items in order to highlight a selected one of the plurality of menu items and, in the touch-tapping mode, the user taps either the sensor or the side surface of the display monitor with the user's finger at the first end or at the second end or anywhere between the first and second ends to move the cursor from a highlighted selected one of the plurality of menu items to highlight a selected one of the subset of menu items associated with the previously-highlighted selected one of the plurality of menu items and wherein the sensor includes an elongated, thin-belt member having a thin-belt member surface, a common electrode and a detector electrode, the common electrode and the detector electrode being fabricated from electrically-conductive material and connected to the thin-belt member surface of the thin-belt member, the common electrode having an elongated common electrode base member and a plurality of common electrode stem members integrally connected to the common base member, extending perpendicularly therefrom and disposed apart from one another to form respective spaces between consecutive ones of the plurality of common electrode stem members, the detector electrode having an elongated detector electrode base member extending parallel to the elongated common electrode base member and a plurality of spaced-apart detector electrode stem members integrally connected to the detector electrode base member and extending perpendicularly therefrom such that respective ones of the detector electrode stem members extend partially into respective ones of the spaces between consecutive ones of the plurality of common electrode stem members.
 2. An input apparatus as set forth in claim 1, wherein plurality of menu items and submenu items are displayed in text format only and, when the user's finger contacts the sensor at or adjacent the first end, only initial ones of the plurality of menu items displayed in text format only appear on the display monitor and, when the user's finger slides therealong in touching contact therewith until at or adjacent the second end, remaining ones of the plurality of menu items displayed in text format only are displayed with ending ones of the plurality of menu items displayed in text format only appearing on the display monitor with the cursor highlighting consecutive ones of the plurality of menu items displayed in text format only as the user's finger slides therealong.
 3. The input apparatus as set forth in claim 2, wherein, when the user taps the sensor, an operation function of the highlighted selected one of the plurality of submenu items displayed in text format only is executed.
 4. The input apparatus as set forth in claim 1, wherein the information terminal device is one of a wrist watch and a digital camera. 